Tag Archives: hybrid

And here’s another project I’m considering for February. This is less complex than Clockwork Clusterfuck, and so may be a better choice.

Prismatic Zealotry

Like the previous one, this project is also based on one of the vague themes I’ve been wanting to explore. The keyword is Colours, and notable influences include Tetris and every single match-three game that isn’t about sugary sweets.

As for a genre, Prismatic Zealotry will be a hybrid between a match-three puzzle game and… something else. I’m leaning toward a top-down action RPG almost, but not quite, entirely unlike The Legend of Zelda.

There will be a lesser focus on combat than in most action RPGs, or maybe the protagonist will just be a lousy fighter. Whatever the case, direct confrontation will not be the primary means of dispatching one’s opponents. In fact, that is where the match-three puzzle gameplay enters the picture. Most objects and creatures in the game world will have one of a limited number of hues, and if three similarly coloured entities happen to line up, they will spontaneously disintegrate or even explode. The player’s main weapon, then, is to push blocks around and lure enemies into spots where they will become part of a match, all the while avoiding the same fate eirself.

I can think of several extensions of the base concept. There could be equipment that changes the player’s hue while worn, or paint to change the colour of blocks and enemies. How far I’ll take it is really a matter of how much time I have to spare when the basics are in place.

The art style will be simple and cartoonish, to facilitate the use of an unambiguous colour theme for each entity. That is, pink characters will really be pink, and medium slate blue blocks will be obviously medium slate blue. Realistic graphics really aren’t going to fool anyone with a premise like this, anyway.

The plot will be… tacked on. Maybe I’ll base it on something by Shakespeare just for the hell of it.

I can’t think of any real challenges in this case. I know how to do everything I need to do, and none of it should take all that long. I guess I can afford to make a game I want to make once in a while, even if I don’t learn anything in the process.

Tools, then. Python, obviously, and probably pyglet since I already know exactly how to implement this thing using that library.

Maybe I’ll record a live soundtrack. Learning to play an instrument shouldn’t take more than a couple of weeks, right?